Sleepover
by LoLoGreeneVines
Summary: Uryu blinked, as though he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. "Friends?" He enunciated the word slowly, rolling it around his mouth like it was some exotic new dish he was tasting for the first time. After a few seconds, he smiled at her. "Yes. I think I'd like that." Set during the Soul-Society arc. Very subtle unrequited shippiness, but basically a friendship fic.


**Author's notes: Just because I ship it hard, but it's still one of my favourite friendships in Bleach. I hope you enjoy the fluff, lovelies, and don't forget to let me know what you think. I value your input. :D**

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><p>Orihime couldn't sleep.<p>

It was dark, the only faint traces of light provided by the sliver of crescent moon in the sky penetrating the cracks in the roof of the storage hut she and Uryu had found to rest in for the night. She stared at the dingy wall, curling and uncurling her toes around the individual hard grains of rice in the corners of the sack she had commandeered as a makeshift sleeping-bag, before she heard a faint shuffling noise and her eyes were drawn to the bright white figure sat by the door they had decided to leave ajar.

They were really going to have to find Uryu a disguise soon, Orihime thought. His white outfit shone like a beacon in the darkness, which was hardly ideal when one was endeavouring to be stealthy in an unknown world full of potential enemies.

"Is everything okay?" Orihime whispered into the darkness.

The figure shifted in the dim light. "All clear, for now. Are you all right?"

Orihime propped herself up on her elbow, wincing as she dug her palm into a sharp pebble on the grimy stone floor. "I'm fine. I just can't sleep."

A muffled intake of breath from the door. "Orihime, we've talked about this. You need to get as much sleep as you can while I'm standing guard, so we can alternate sentry duty. It wouldn't do for one of us to conk out when we were supposed to be standing guard."

"I know," she pouted. "It's just... I don't know, it's difficult when I'm in the 'hiding for my life' mindset, knowing that at any moment a Soul Reaper could burst in through the door and attack us."

"I wouldn't let them get close enough for that," Uryu replied. "I understand your concerns, though. Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?"

She wondered. What _would_ make her feel more comfortable?

"Well, perhaps we should just regard this whole thing as a sleepover," she suggested.

Orihime could practically hear Uryu rolling his eyes from across the small hut. "I know I'm not exactly what could be described as an expert, but I was under the impression that the whole point of sleepovers was to _not_ sleep?"

"Oh, no!" she assured him. "I actually always slept better when Tatsuki was sleeping over. It was less lonely than when I was on my own."

Peering through the darkness, Orihime could see that her companion was regarding her with the most understanding expression she had ever seen. What was the story behind _that_?

"Okay," he eventually said, decisively. "This is a sleepover, then. We don't have to compliment each other on our pyjamas, have pillow-fights, or talk about boys, do we?"

She giggled, sitting up in her rice-sack and shuffling over until she was sitting by the door, next to him. "No. Nothing like that. I was thinking a sort-of getting-to-know-you exercise, because we're going to be spending a lot of time together and I hardly know anything about you. I'd like for us to be friends."

Uryu blinked, as though he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. "Friends?" He enunciated the word slowly, rolling it around his mouth like it was some exotic new dish he was tasting for the first time. After a few seconds, he smiled at her. "Yes. I think I'd like that."

Something about his smile took Orihime aback. It was so unexpected, so uncharacteristic of the infamously grumpy Uryu Ishida to break out into a genuine smile that she found herself grinning back, which only served to make his grow even wider.

"You know," she said, scrutinising his face in the darkness. "You have a really pretty smile. What's your excuse for not showing it more often?"

His smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and he shrunk back a fraction until his face was hidden in the shadows. "No reason," he choked out, and Orihime would have laughed had she not realised that he was _embarrassed_. Some people just weren't good at being complimented, she thought. Best just to drop it.

"Okay," she said, crossing her legs inside the rice-sack and sitting so she was facing Uryu, who was sitting perpendicular to the door and glancing out occasionally. "I would like to propose a game of twenty questions!"

He raised an eyebrow doubtfully. "Isn't that the one where you think of an object and the other person has twenty questions to guess it? I don't think either one of us should be using so much brainpower for something so trivial when we need to be alert in case the Soul Reapers turn up."

Orihime shook her head. "No, silly! It means we each get to ask the other ten questions, so twenty in total, and we have to answer them honestly. Sound fun?"

"If it'll help you to sleep."

"It will," she assured him. "Now, do you want to start?"

Uryu's eyes widened in alarm at being suddenly put on the spot. "Erm... what's your favourite colour?"

She pouted. "Is that really the best you can come up with?"

He shrugged. "A person's favourite things can tell you a lot about them, and sometimes their answers are completely unexpected. Now, according to your own rules, you have to answer the question honestly."

"I'm really not sure," Orihime replied, wracking her brains for any real preference. "I don't think I could choose one colour. I really like the excitement of orange, the whimsy of pink, the mystery of mauve... can I choose multi-coloured polka dots?"

Uryu gave a quiet laugh. "No. Pick one."

"Hmm." Orihime pondered for a minute, before her fingers were drawn to her hairclips. "Probably sky blue. It reminds me of my brother, looks good on me, and goes nicely with my clips."

"A fine choice," he said.

"Now it's my turn!" she exclaimed. "What's _your _favourite colour? No, wait, it's white or blue, isn't it? Stupid question..."

Uryu tapped his fingers against the floor, tracing patterns in the layer of dust by his knees. "I wear a lot of white because it's traditional, and I used to think that blue was my favourite colour. It's still my favourite to wear, but I'd have to choose green as my overall favourite. It can be both relaxing and stimulating, depending on the shade, and lime-green is close enough to yellow to show hope and happiness. I just happen to look terrible in any shade of green," he admitted with a self-conscious laugh.

"I can see that," Orihime responded. "You're a deep winter, so cold colours suit you best. Ooh, see, this feels like a sleepover already!"

"Yes. Just let's refrain from giving each other makeovers. I don't think I could do your face justice in the dark."

Orihime snorted with laughter, surprised by Uryu's sudden sense of humour she had no idea existed before. It was strange, usually she'd have been horrified by the unladylike noise which came out of her mouth, but she found that it was impossible to feel self-conscious around Uryu. In some ways, being around him was a lot like being around Tatsuki, who certainly had no need for putting on airs and graces.

Yes, Uryu Ishida would make a fine friend.

"Do you want to ask the next question?" he suggested, once her laughter had died down. "I mean, seeing as how you just stole mine for your last one."

She stuck her tongue out. "Fine. What's your living arrangement? Do you live with your parents?"

Orihime watched as Uryu adopted a sombre expression, his eyebrows knitting together and the corners of his mouth turning down. "No, I live on my own."

Ah, so _this_ was why he seemed so understanding when she mentioned feeling lonely; he must have been lonely himself. She remembered how strangely he had reacted to the idea that she wanted to be friends with him, and immediately felt bad for him; the poor boy can't have had anybody to talk to before. Orihime tentatively placed her hand on his shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting gesture, glad when he didn't shrink away from her touch, and decided that she was going to be the best friend to him that she could be.

"I don't get on with my father," Uryu continued. "As for my mother... well, I think I'd rather not talk about that."

Orihime took her hand away from his shoulder and smiled. "That's okay. If you ever do want to talk about it, I'll be willing to listen."

"I probably won't," he muttered, more to himself than her. "Thank you, anyway. What are your living arrangements, then?" he added, looking at her.

She smiled. "I live alone, too. I used to live with my brother, but, well, he died, and now it's just me and my teddy bear."

Uryu frowned. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"No, it's okay," Orihime said, smiling. "I know he's safe somewhere here in the Soul Society, and he knows that I have great friends looking after me so he's not too worried. I miss him a lot, but I'm just grateful to him for all he did for me. If he hadn't taken me away from our parents, I probably wouldn't even be alive to talk to you now."

She watched as he regarded her with alarm, clearly at a loss for words. After a pregnant pause, he cleared his throat. "Shall we talk about something a little less morbid? What's your favourite food?"

Orihime clapped her hands together in excitement, delighted that Uryu had brought up one of her favourite topics. "Oh, food! I like to experiment with food - sweetcorn, green bean and toffee sauce pizza, prawn crackers with custard, crisps dunked in red bean paste... but I think that if I had to choose a favourite, I'd go with doughnuts. I do love my dairy products, though, butter and cheese improve pretty much every recipe."

She focused her gaze on her new friend and saw that he was looking at her in disbelief. "How do you not weigh three times as much as you do?"

Orihime giggled. "I don't know! Michiru's theory is that I'm so active I just burn all of the extra calories right off," she lowered her voice conspiratorially, "but _I_ suspect it just goes straight to my chest."

Squinting through the dark, she realised that Uryu's face was glowing red enough for her to distinguish in the pale moonlight. "Oops," she said. "I'm sorry, I thought I was with Tatsuki there for a second."

"Ah," responded Uryu, eloquently, staring at the floor and tracing patterns in the dirt again with his gloved hand.

"What's your favourite food?" Orihime shot back, quickly, eager to forget what had just happened.

It seemed that he too was eager to forget, because he replied a bit quicker than was absolutely necessary. "Mackerel and miso soup. It's simple, quick to cook, and it tastes good. I got into the habit of making it when I was still living with my father, because he didn't like the smell, but then I continued to make it when I moved out. I don't know, I just like it."

"That does sound good," she mused.

"Perhaps I'll have to make some for you some day," he said, gently.

Orihime beamed. "Okay. My turn, now. What's your most embarrassing moment?"

Uryu turned his face away from her, and began staring out of the crack in the door. "Oh, you don't want to hear about that."

"I do!" she insisted, leaning forwards with wide eyes until he finally conceded defeat and looked at her.

He sighed. "If you insist. When I was four, my grandfather gave in and decided to start teaching me how to be a proper Quincy. He gave me a bracelet, showed me how to manifest a bow... and then I lost control of it and accidentally shot him. The arrow simply bounced off his chest. And then he laughed at me."

Orihime pictured Uryu as a child, eager to learn the family art and failing so badly that he couldn't even gather the power to accidentally injure his teacher, and began laughing.

"It wasn't funny," he insisted, folding his arms and looking away as she continued laughing. "Okay, then, what's _your_ most embarrassing moment?"

Her laughter faded away and Orihime found her cheeks growing red. Well, answering honestly _had_ been one of her stipulations...

"One time, in the school corridor, I ran into, er, my crush. I fell over, because of course I did, and then when he offered me his hand, I refused his help because I was so flustered. Can you believe it?"

Uryu laughed softly, pushing up his glasses with a fingertip. "Judging from what I've seen of your coordination so far this trip, Orihime... yes. I can absolutely believe that."

"Shush!" she exclaimed, sticking her tongue out again. "So, what's your next question?"

She watched him deliberating for a few seconds. "What is your favourite animal?"

Ooh. Interesting question.

Orihime wracked her brains. "I always thought rats were cute."

Uryu raised an eyebrow. "That's convenient, considering this place is crawling with them."

"They get a really bad reputation. I mean, aside from the fact that they spread diseases, destroy food supplies, and chew through everything, they have sweet little faces and they make very clean pets."

"Yes, aside from the whole killer-pest thing."

"What's your favourite animal?" Orihime fired back.

"When I was very young we had a cat. It was my mother's idea, my father wasn't too fond of it. I liked that cat. Unfortunately, the cat didn't like _me_ very much, and he was old, and one day I accidentally hugged him too hard and he had a fit. He had to be put down."

"So, cats?"

Uryu shrugged. "I could identify with that cat. It was independent, fiercely proud, and eventually died because it was loved too much."

Orihime was horrified by this. "You... you don't think love will kill you, do you?"

"Oh, no," Uryu stated, matter-of-factly. "I was just pointing out that that's how much I loved that cat. So, yes, cats."

"Oh," she said. "Okay. What's your favourite type of chocolate?"

Orihime watched as Uryu peered out of the door again, checking it was clear. Evidently he saw nothing which bothered him, for he turned back to her and spoke. "Dark chocolate. The darker the better, especially if it's smooth, slightly bittersweet, snaps cleanly, and isn't too shiny a colour. And yourself?"

"You really know what you're talking about, don't you?" she said, playing with a loose strand of her hessian sack. "I feel really unsophisticated, now. I like white chocolate. If I have enough money, I buy the nice type with vanilla seeds."

"Don't worry about it, I can never afford the chocolate I like," he reassured her. "And there is some high-quality white chocolate out there. It's good in the summer when the rest loses its snap. Okay, what's your favourite type of flower?"

Orihime grinned. "Snapdragons! They look so funny when you pinch the flowers together, it's like a dragon opening and closing its mouth." She proceeded to open and close her own mouth, prompting a small smile from Uryu. "Oh, I expect I just look like a fish, right? What's your favourite flower?"

"Ah, I like roses," Uryu replied, ignoring her 'fish' comment. "They're classically beautiful, and they have prickles. The paradox is a bit cliché, but it's interesting, and they are nice to look at."

"They are!" she concurred. "Especially white ones. They always look so clean. Aren't they supposed to symbolise innocence? I like that."

"As do I," he said.

"Of course, you would like the white ones," Orihime continued. "Mister Quincy. Okay, Uryu, next question: what exactly are you doing here in the Soul Society?"

There was silence for a moment, and Orihime wondered if Uryu had seen or heard something to be aware of outside their storage hut. She strained her ears, but all she could hear was the faint sound of drunken revellers far enough away to not be a threat.

Eventually, Uryu looked up at her. "I'm here to help rescue Rukia, because I don't think she deserves punishment for what she did. It would be unjust. If I had had an opportunity to prevent a gross miscarriage of justice, and I hadn't taken it, and somebody had been killed as a result, I don't think I'd have been able to forgive myself. Even if she is technically my enemy. Also," he added, almost as an afterthought. "You asked nicely."

Orihime suspected that he perhaps wasn't telling the complete truth, but decided that he probably wouldn't be breaking the 'tell the truth' rule unless he had a reason to. She let it go.

"What about you?" he asked.

"Oh, pretty much the same reason," she said, airily. "I like Rukia. Rescuing her is the right thing to do."

Yes, that would do. There was no need to mention the fact that she wanted Ichigo to be happy. if Uryu hadn't told the entire truth, she didn't have to.

"Hmm," he said, as though he could read her thoughts, but he swiftly moved on. "Where do you see yourself in ten years?"

Well. That was an excellent question.

"I want to be an astronaut!" Orihime declared, gesticulating wildly with her hands. "And a TV chef, and a teacher, and one of those people who sex baby chickens, and..."

"... And basically you wish you'd been born quintuplets so you could do everything," he said.

She grinned. "Yeah, pretty much. I guess I can't just decide on one thing. I'm so glad I don't have to worry about that for another couple of years. Well, what about you? What are your ambitions for the next decade?"

Uryu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I don't really think about it too much. I guess if I had to say, the default assumption is that I'll be a doctor, even though I'd really rather not follow in my father's footsteps. Perhaps I'd make a good lawyer. Whatever I end up doing, I still want to have enough free time for my hobbies, I want to sew and continue my Quincy training, and watch Don Kanonji's programme. I don't know, in ten years, I might even be married, with children. It's strange to think about the future."

"It is strange, isn't it?" Orihime agreed. "I feel like such a little kid now, the idea of being responsible for any kids of my own is frightening. I don't know how my brother did such a good job with me."

"I'm sure you'd do a fine job of rearing children," he replied, encouragingly. "Well, you have one question left. Make it count."

She folded her arms, tilting her head back confidently. Orihime knew _exactly_ what she was going to ask.

"Is there a girl you like?"

She almost giggled as Uryu's eyes closed and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ah, and I thought I was safe," he muttered, before opening his eyes and peering straight into hers. "Fine. If you must know, yes. There is."

Orihime shuffled forward towards him slightly, her eyes bright as she concocted a plan. "What's her name?"

"Orihime Inoue, you have _no_ more questions," he asserted, hiding his face in the shadows as she sat further upright.

"Is there anything I can do to help you with her? Anything at all?"

"Good grief, I'm going to have to secure an opt-out clause if we ever play this game again," Uryu muttered, holding out his hands in front of Orihime in a calming gesture. "Look. This girl is completely out of my league, I am a hundred percent certain that she is not romantically interested in me, I do not need your help with her, and I'd rather you didn't bring the subject up again. It's _painful_."

Ah. so that's how it was.

Orihime calmed down. "I understand completely," she said. She paused for a minute, expecting him to fire her question back. When he didn't, she frowned. "Aren't you going to ask me if there's a boy I like?"

Uryu shook his head. "I already know about your feelings for him."

"Oh," she said. "Am I really that obvious?"

"I wouldn't say that," he replied, not unkindly. "I just tend to notice more than most people do."

"Ah."

A pause.

"Here's a question for you," Uryu said. "Do you think you'd ever consider anybody other than him?"

"Oh, gosh, I don't know," Orihime said, yawning. "He's the only person I've ever felt that way about. I don't think I can imagine giving up on him, but I'm only fifteen years old. What do I know about romance?"

"And that from somebody who just seconds ago was offering to help me with my own romantic problems," he remarked drily.

"Oh yeah, I guess I probably wouldn't have been much help, after all," she said with a nervous laugh.

Uryu gave her an half-smile. "Go to sleep, Orihime."

Orihime shuffled away as he returned to his watch, peering out through the door. As she laid her head down on the bundle of rough hessian she had made into a pillow, she turned back to see the silhouette of her companion watching her. "Thank you for playing along, Uryu," she said. "I'm glad we're friends."

"Me, too," he replied.

Orihime closed her eyes and promptly fell asleep, all fear that she could be awoken by an hungry Soul Reaper forgotten due to the reassuring presence of her new friend.


End file.
